Bengower

Bengower at 664 m, is the 135th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 166th–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. Bengower is in the southern end of the Twelve Bens mountain range in the Connemara National Park in County Galway, Ireland, and is the 6th-tallest of the core Twelve Bens.

Naming
Irish academic Paul Tempan notes that there is no evidence as to the origin of the "goat" reference, however, he notes that the mountain was mistakenly labelled as "Glengower" in the popular Discovery Map series.

Geography
Bengower lies between the summits of Benbreen 691 m, to the north, and Benlettery 577 m, and Benglenisky 517 m, to the south. Climbing guidebooks note that its northerly rocky ridge (that rises up from the col of Mám na Gaoithe, or "pass of the wind" at 470 metres) requires scrambling to reach the summit.

Bengower's prominence of 196 m qualifies it as a Marilyn, and it also ranks it as the 86th-highest mountain in Ireland in the MountainViews Online Database, 100 Highest Irish Mountains, where the prominence threshold is 100 metres.

Hill walking
Because of its positioning, the more straightforward routes to climb Bengower usually follow a 7-kilometre 3-4 hour horseshoe loop-walk with the neighbouring peaks of Benlettery and Benglenisky.

Bengower is often climbed as part of the popular 16–kilometre 8–9 hour Glencoaghan Horseshoe, considered one of Ireland's best hill-walks. Bengower is also climbed as part of the longer Owenglin Horseshoe, a 20–kilometre 10–12 hour route around the Owenglin River taking in over twelve summits.